Holiday Report Card: The Flight

As many of you pointed out, the flight WOULD end eventually. And it did. :o)

On our way out of town on December 22, The Munch and I flew by ourselves. We thought we'd be able to have assistance from my mom through security and to our gate, but the lovely folks at the Northwest ticket counter decided to surprise us at the last minute and DENY our request. "Added security measures," they said. (Ironic, I know, given recent events.)

So the boy howled his way through security (shoes off, by the way) and through our rushed 5.5 minute breakfast, after which I struggled to get the #@$% car seat into its cover and schlepped onto the plane. Through nothing short of a Christmas miracle, some guy in the very last row (which just so happened to NOT be in the same location as the restrooms) asked us to switch our aisle seat for his so he could sit with his family, and we ended up with an empty seat next to us. THANK GOODNESS. I honestly could not have imagined juggling a very antsy little boy and all. his. stuff. without a little extra elbow room--especially since we sat an additional 45 minutes on the tarmac prior to takeoff.

Equipment included in diaper bag (besides the obvious): New board books, favorite board books, toddler crayon thingies, coloring book, iPhone loaded with episodes of "Sesame Street," four nesting cups, kid-friendly cell phone, snacks. The Munch's favorites? None of the above. Except for the snacks. I'm pretty sure he ate for a total of 1.5 hours.

BUT. We survived and arrived unharmed. And our shorter-by-two-hours return flight had a dad, ANOTHER EMPTY SEAT (crazy, I know), more snacks, and a Benadryl-induced nap to help it along.

Thanks for all your advice! More holiday report cards to come...when I can get the stories and photos together.



Oh! and P.S.: The Go-Go Kidz Travelmate was a huge help. I highly recommend it if you have a real stroller waiting at your destination.